Workers uncover old sign

The Colt Safety Products sign at 8300 Manchester Road has come down as part of the demolition of the building, which revealed an earlier sign: for the Wright Leather Specialty Co.

The building was built in 1955, according to St. Louis records. The Missouri Secretary of State has a record of a Wright Leather Specialty Co. formed in 1924, with an office at 311 N. Lindbergh Boulevard. It was voluntarily dissolved in 1987.

Yes, it is my Grandpa’s company and they did (and still do)have a branch factory in Doniphan (which will be the site of a family reunion in July in fact). I have talked to the head of the demolition company about preserving the sign and hope to be able to get it from them soon. The building is also where my dad had his first law office before moving across the street to 8131 Manchester in the 50’s.

From memory I believe Denver Wright was connected with the Citizens National Bank in Maplewood. He was also a big game hunter, I think. I might have gotten this information from Dan Walper at the bank.

In Case You Missed It

Many of the readers of 40 South News will be familiar with my blog about the history of Maplewood, Missouri from my previous posts on other sites. Since this is my first blog post for 40 South News I’ve decided to start with the earliest information regarding Maplewood.